DESPITE the soft employment market, demand for workers remained positive with 54 per cent of companies across all sectors looking to hire workers to fill key positions, according to JobStreet.com’s Job Outlook Survey 2017.
The survey revealed that 12 per cent of employers would maintain their hiring rate while 18 per cent indicated they would hire more people.
Country manager of JobStreet.com Malaysia and Singapore operations Chook Yuh Yng said nine per cent of employers surveyed said they would hire fewer workers, while seven per cent said they would not hire at all.
“So, 84 per cent of correspondents gave a positive outlook for 2017,” she told the New Sunday Times at the JobStreet.com Malaysia Career and Training Fair at Mid Valley Megamall.
“Our data also further highlighted that employers in certain industries were looking to fill key positions, which would create more opportunities for qualified candidates.
“The industries that will be hiring in 2017 are computer and information technology, call centres, IT enable services, business process outsourcing (BPO), food and beverage, catering, restaurant, education, library and manufacturing.”
Last December, the Statistics Department revealed that Malaysia’s unemployment rate in October stood at 3.5 per cent, the same as in the previous month, but it was 0.2 percentage points higher than in October 2015.
JobStreet.com’s regional communications head Simon Si said employers also discovered that the skill sets of candidates, not their qualifications per se, were not always aligned with the job requirement.
“Candidates often apply or get matched to jobs based on the relevance of their qualifications but the skill level or the depth of knowledge may not be up to employers’ expectations.
“This is why upskilling, continuous learning and self-improvement are very important aspects of any career progression.
“Areas of improvement besides subject matter expertise, include softer skills like communication, leadership, critical thinking as well as ICT skills,” he added. Reporting by FAREZZA HANUM RASHID, LAILI ISMAIL, ARFA YUNUS and HALIM SAID